Chair.



No. 676,788. Patented June l8, IBM.

W. C. WALLIS.

CHAIR.

(Application filed Oct. 6, 1900.) (No Model. 7

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

. No. 676,788. I r

w. c. WALLIS.

CHAIR.

(Application filed Oct. 5, 1900.)

Patentedlune l8, I901.

' 2 Sheets-Shut 2.

(No Model.)

turn mares arrnrvr rricn.

WILLIAM CLARKE WALLIS, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

CHAIR.

SEEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 676,788, dated June 18, 1901.

Application filed October 6, 1900. Serial No. 32,179. (No modeLl T on whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM CLARKE WAL- LIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Chair, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to chairs in general, and more particularly to the class of folding and adjustable chairs, the object of the invention being to providea simple, cheap, and efficient construction which may be adjusted to stand in an erect position, may be brought to a reclining position, or may be entirely folded, as may be preferred from time to time.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several Views, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the complete chair in its erect position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the chair in its reclining position. Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the chair in its folded position. Fig. 4: is a sectional view taken longitudinally through one of the side pieces of the frame of the bottom of the chair and showing the connections of the legs and armrest support. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the present chair comprises two parallel rockers 10 and 11, having a connectingrung 13 substantially midway of their lengths, while a foot-rest 14, disposed in recesses in their upper faces, connects the front ends of the rockers.

The seat portion of the chair comprises side pieces 15 and 16, having connecting cross-pieces 17 and 18, which support the seat proper, 19, which is formed of any suitable materiah Rear supporting-legs 20 are hinged to the rear ends of the side pieces 15 and 16, while their lower ends are hinged to the upper faces of the rockers, adjacent the forward ends of the latter, whereby the seat-frame may be folded against the legs, which may in turn be folded to lie against the rockers, said legs and rockers at each side of the chair lying in a common plane.

In the side pieces 15 and 16 are formed longitudinal slots 21 and 22, and with these slots are engaged the end portions of transverse bolts 23, said bolts extending entirely through. and projecting beyond the side pieces. On the bolts 23 are pivoted the upper ends of the front supporting-legs 24, held rigidly in parallel relation by means of cross-bars 25, and through the lower ends of the legs 24 is passed a rod 26, the end portions of which project beyond the legs and slidably engage the grooves 27, which are formed longitudinally of the inner faces of the rockers. grooves 27 conform to the curvature of the rockers until they reach points just in the rear of the foot-rest, when they are taken downwardly and through the bottoms of the rockers, as shown. This permits the engagement of the ends of rod 26 with the grooves and the disengagement of the rod therefrom at proper times. The rod being slidably engaged with the grooves, the rear ends of the front legs may be slid rearwardly until the rod rests against the rear ends of the grooves to hold the legs against further movement, and at which time the legs will be in the positions shown in Fig. 1. The rear ends of the legs may be then slid forwardly to permit the rear legs to fold against the rockers, as shown in Fig. 2, and the seat-frame to fold into close relation to the rear supporting-legs.

The legs 20 have their upper ends turned at right angles, as shown at 30, and to these portions 30 are pivoted the side pieces 31 of the back of the chair through the medium of a rod 32, which is passed through the portions 30 and the lower ends of the side pieces. Arms 33 are pivoted to the side pieces 31, and to the under sides of their front portions are hinged supports 3i, which are pivoted to the side pieces 15 and 16 of the seat-frame through the medium of bolts 35, which are engaged with the supports and with the slots 21 and 22. The hinge connections between the arms and their supports permit the arms and supports to fold together when the back is moved pivotally forward to fold against the seat; but in a reverse movement of the back the arms are brought to impinge tightly against the upper ends of the supports and by the supports are held against movement, and thus are the arms prevented from moving backwardly. The upper ends of the supports The side pieces 38.

are out at the proper bevel to hold the arms and supports at that angle which will give the proper inclination to the back.

From the above description it will be seen that the legs may be folded to permit them to lie in the positions shown in Fig. 2 and without in any manner disturbing the positions of the parts of the seat and back, there being thus provided a low or reclining chair, the feet being stretched out upon thefioor. Furthermore, when the chair is to be transported or packed away the back may be folded forwardly and against the seat, at which time the arms and supports will lie together and the whole will assume a small size.

In practice various modifications of the specific construction shown may be made, and any suitable materials and proportions may be used for the various parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

To further prevent excessive rearward movement of the back of the chair, the side pieces of the back have their lower ends halved, these halved portions being pivoted to the rear supporting-legs, and the shoulders 35*, which result from this halving, are adapted to rest against the upper flat ends of the portions 30, which latter act as stops.

The side pieces 31 of the back have their inner faces grooved longitudinally, and with these grooves are engaged the beads 37 of supplemental side pieces 38 of an extensionback comprising also the head-rest 39 and cross-pieces 40, it being understood that the side pieces 31 have also cross-pieces upon which is fixed a-filling 41, of suitable material. NVith this construction the back may be adjusted to any height within certain limits, and to prevent accidental inward sliding of the supplemental side pieces turn-buttons 43 are pivoted upon the side pieces 31 and may be moved to engage recesses 42 in the The turn-bu ttons are adapted to engage these recesses interchangeably to hold the supplemental back at different poi nts of its adjustment.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings there is shown a leg-rest for attachment to the chair when in its lowered position, this attachment comprising parallel rails 50, which are curved, so that they inaylie in notches in the footboard letand with their rear ends against the rung 25, plates 25 being attached to the rear ends of the sills to lie under and against the rung 25 to prevent upward movement of the rear portions of the sills. Hooks 52 upon the sills engage eyes 53 upon the footboard to hold the was device from sliding forwardly. This attach ment forms a simple, convenient, and comfortable rest for the legs of the occupant and may be readily detached when the chair is to be folded or placed in its raised position.

What is claimed is- 1. A chair comprising rockers having legs hinged thereto to fold thereagainst, additional legs pivoted to the first legs and slidably engaged with the rockers, a seat hinged to the first legs and having slotted portions, clamping-bolts engaged with the second legs and 'slidably disposed in the slots of the seat, a back sustained by the first-named legs, arms pivoted to the back, supports for the arms, and additional clamping-bolts engaged with the arm-supports and slidably engaged with the slots of the seat, said clamping-bolts being adapted to clamp the legs and supports independently against movement with respect to the seat.

2. A chair comprising rockers having legs hinged thereto to fold thereagainst, said legs having their upper ends turned at an angle, legs pivoted to the first legs and slidably engaged with the rockers, a seat hinged to the first legs and with which the second legs are slidably engaged, a back pivoted to the turned ends of the first legs and having stops for engagement therewith to limit the pivotal movement of the back, arms pivoted to the back, and supports hinged to the arms and having adjustable connection with the seat.

3. A chair comprising rockers having legs hinged thereto to fold thereagainst, said legs having their upper ends turned at an angle upwardly, legs pivoted to the first legs and slidably engaged with the rockers, a seat hinged to the first legs and with which the second legs are slidably engaged, a back pivoted to the upwardly-turned ends of the legs, and having stops for engagement with the upwardly-turned portions to limit the pivotal movement of the back, said back comprising grooved side pieces, and a supplemental back slidably engaged with said grooves, the back having turn-buttons for movement into the path of movement of the supplemental back to prevent return movement thereof at times.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIAM CLARKE \VALLIS.

Vitnesses:

T. A. ADKINS, J12,

FRANK POWELL. 

